Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Having worked in the jails and prisons for years as a volunteer, I have firsthand knowledge of people sentenced for drug and alcohol use. Imprisoning addicts is not only terribly expensive, it does little or nothing to solve the problem.
Setting up mandatory treatment programs for convicted addicts would be far less expensive. Plus, it would allow addicts to continue to work, support their families, and maintain some level of self-respect. After serving their prison terms, these people find it difficult to impossible to re-establish their lives.
We should also look at the large proportion of addicts who are numbing the effects of sexual abuse in their childhoods. Addressing such root causes would make treatment far more effective and would reduce the self-hatred that all too many of these victims feel.
Being “tough on crime” may sound good, but in the real world, it is often counterproductive and expensive.Vivienne E. Perkins, FranktownThis letter was published in the June 8 edition. For information on how to send a letter to the editor, click here.